On politics in the Golden State

Palin robocalls aimed at boosting Fiorina

June 7, 2010 | 7:03
pm

As rumored, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,
whose
endorsement gave former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina a boost in
the
Republican campaign for the U.S. Senate nomination, gave her some more
help Monday: a recorded call that went out to 650,000 likely Republican voters
in
California, according to Fiorina spokeswoman Julie Soderlund.

Here is what Palin had to say:

“Hi. This is Sarah Palin calling for the Carly
for California
campaign. I’m calling to ask you to vote for Carly Fiorina, the
commonsense
conservative running for United States Senate. You know thankfully Carly
is not
a career politician. She’s a businesswoman who knows from personal
experience
that when government grows, the private sector shrinks. Carly is the
conservative who has the best chance to beat liberal Sen. Barbara Boxer. And she’s running against a liberal
Republican
who really isn’t much different than Boxer. Come on, help get our
country back
on track by electing Carly Fiorina to the United States Senate. Please
be sure
to vote on Tuesday. And thank you so much for your time.”

Thus far this campaign season, Palin’s record
of
success is mixed. Polls
show
Fiorina leading her two rivals, former Rep. Tom Campbell, a social
moderate, and Irvine Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, a hard-core conservative,
so
Tuesday may bring another victory for Palin.

For campaign trivia buffs, according to the
Fiorina
campaign, the two women never crossed paths on the campaign trail in
2008, when
Palin was Sen. John McCain’s running mate and Fiorina was his chief
economic
adviser. When the Fiorina campaign sought Palin’s endorsement, the
discussion
was between the two teams. Fiorina’s campaign manager, Marty Wilson, said
Monday
that the pair are “in communication now.”

Meanwhile, the DeVore campaign, which tried
hard to
erode the Fiorina money advantage with a steady flow of negative claims
about
her, alleges the calls violate the California Public Utilities
Commission’s
rules on robocalls, which require that they be preceded by a live human
being
before the recording starts and only be placed to people who agree to
them beforehand. Here are the rules.

And for those whose phones have been ringing
off the
hook in the last week, here is a 2008 Los Angeles Times story on how the
law is
widely flouted…particularly at election time.

DeVore’s spokesman, Joshua Trevino, said DeVore
has
never used robocalls and pointed out that violating the code calls for a
$500
fine. “Carly Fiorina has lost that much in Krugerrands under her couch
cushions,” Trevino said. “She's happy to take the hit and get away with a
petty
illegality in the furtherance of her ambition.”

The Fiorina campaign said the law is an “arcane state regulation” and does not apply to a federal race
such
as this. It also says that DeVore is desperate.

But Trevino sent along this story which supports his contention that Fiorina’s calls are subject to the
California PUC regulations.